Fuse Magazine by nanatabata

FUSE

CON TE NTS FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS SPRING 2019

IRIS VAN HERPEN

Meet Iris van Herpen, the Dutch designer boldly going into the future.

Iris van Herpen, Aeriform, Editorial BY: WARREN DU PREEZ + NICK HORNTON JONES

contributors

letter to the editor

sneaker reviews

into the future

innovative technology

spring trends

FUSE.COM

editor’s words CONTENTS

ISSEY MIYAKE

More than clothing: the brilliant, innovative mind of Issey Miyake.

NOA RAVIV

Combining grid patterns and 3-D printing for Hard Copy collection.

EVIN TISON

The graduate collection that takes us through Evin Tison’s imagination.

From the Editor FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

Fuse — the magazine where fashion and technology become more entwined. The relationship between the body and the technology we create is closer than ever since designers, artists, scientists, and engineers began combining their practices. With every passing day, designers are weaving electronics more tightly into the fabric of our physical world. Today, fashion no longer encompasses just the clothes and accessories we wear, but experimentation, technology and research; a system that welcomes new functions and wider meanings. In this issue, we take a closer look at some of the world’s hottest designers. These designers explore emerging materials to create new innovative couture. Designers are leading the way for the future of fashion, showcasing the importance of design in social situations and our every day lives — offering us a glimpse into what the future holds for the fashion world.

NANA TABATA

BY: LINDSAY KOFFLER

SPRING 2019

Experimentation with new fabrics and the latest technology.

Creative Director & Editor-in-Chief

CONTRIBUTORS FUSE.COM

Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

team

BY: LINDSAY KOFFLER

FRANK WINTOUR

GIGI LOGIUDICE

RINA DISHMAN

Publisher

Design Director

Head Writer

MARK BURTON

MIL AN DOTIYAL

SHANNEN ROMERO

Executive Editor

Advertising Manager

Assistant Writer

CATHERINE LILIN

CALEB JOYER

MAISON RAID

Art Director

Operations Manager

Proof Reader

ANNA RAPTUNAV

ASHEETA KHANNA

ANTHONY PHAM

Digital Editor

Founding Designer

Photographer

ALINA SITNIK

BRANDON OWEN

KENKOH TASHIRO

Copy Editor

Contributing Editor

Photographer

FUSE 789 Broadway Street New York, NY 10020 212.762.8024 · contact us at editorial@fuse.com Fuse Magazine is published quarterly by fuse media, inc. © 2019. All rights reserved. Fuse magazine accepts no responsibility for the loss or damage of material submitted for publication.

BY: COLLIER SCHORR

My Intelligent Communication Accessory by MICA.

dear Fuse, FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SPRING 2019

I generally do not write letters to the editor but I have become increasingly annoyed by letters from people who feel they can dictate what is and isn’t fashion. Fashion is deﬁnitely in the eye of the beholder. I may or may not enjoy some pieces that are presented as garments but I do respect the right of others to appreciate it or not. Designers through the ages have been criticized and later become respected icons. Think Alexander McQueen for a start. There are no real rules in design, nor should there be, otherwise it would become stagnant and never evolve. So long as this magazine continues to present a varied and balanced selection of fashion and designers I will continue to read and enjoy it. Congratulations on producing something that broadens our knowledge and education. JULIE-ANNE ROGERS

Del Mar, Calif.

I keep thinking of the possiblities of fashion after reading your article on ‘Wearable Technology’ The other day I was thinking perheps the future clothings could sense rising stress levels even before the wearer realized what is happening. If mechanics like this can challenge or prompt a person, it could bring healthcare beneﬁts, such as alerting a person to sit down before vital signs reach heart attack levels. Sensors can send our biometric data to doctors, while the antibacterial fabrics protects us from viruses. These are most deﬁnitely designs of the “future” but that future is not so distant. SALLIE TISDALE

Portland, Ore.

STEVEN FASTERST

Boston, Mass. At the age of 72, I suppose I should be ﬁlled with disdain in regards to the pace at which technology is moving forward. On the contrary, I was thrilled to see the likes of Noa Raviv’s work featured in your magazine. Keep on ﬁnding artists as imaginative as her. I am constantly reminded of something one of your recent articles said; we should expose ourselves to lots of fashion, even fashion we don’t like. Looking only at what we like just reinforces our existing judgements and offers no new knowledge. Examining garments we don’t like can open us to question why we dislike it. Which can lead us to better realize why we dress the way we do, as well as opening up new possibilities to expand our own wardrobe.

BY: COLLIER SCHORR

Connecting fashion-forward women to the new age.

I was interested in your last issue on ‘Wearable Technology’ and the notion that future of wearables is smart fabrics is fascinating. Considering that clothes are an integral part of living, it makes sense to incorporate technology that can help us at a moment’s notice. This is just the beginning of what can be achieved when fashion and technology come together. In the next ﬁve years, wearable technology in fashion will be a normal thing. In a decade, you might not need to carry your smartphone or any other device around. It will all be in what you are wearing.

morales

KEN PERKINS

Chicago, Illi.

FUSE.COM

- gendry

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

“I wanted to use technology to ﬁnd a solution that would bring the craft back to fashion. It’s important for people to feel conﬁdent about their look while still adhering to the rules of nature rather than corroding the beautiful planet that we have.”

FLYWIRE CABLES

H I -tec h SN EAK E RS spri ng 2019

TWIN PLATES WITH FOAM CUSHIONING

NIKE SHOX GRAVITY The artistry behind it is what I like the most about these shoes. The sole is made up of two metal plates + foam cushioning. As you see in the images and in the video below, these shoes will definitely turn some heads. The sole the bottoms have a really amazing look, full of different colors, and creating a somewhat futuristic, somewhat meteor themed shoe. The rise in engineered spring soles is building momentum. Nike has recently reinvented its 2000s classic Shox design, featuring a streamlined version of the iconic Shox springs. The new Shox construction boosts both function and form, showcasing a cushioned mesh sock upper and intricate toggle-lacing mechanism. Creators Aaron Cooper, Brian Farris and Greg Thompson explain the reasons behind the revamp: “I think in the past, we were too obsessed with the visual of four pucks

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

Released: January 12 / $140 USD

Photoshoot for Adidas UltraBoost all terrain lookbook. BY: CHRIS SCHOONOVER

as Shox,” states Thompson. “We now know that the experience is the most important. They fit real snug but I was still able to go true to size. At the same time I do have pretty narrow feet, so that may be something you’d like to consider if you plan on purchasing these shoes. Usually, when I buy my normal size on Nike most shoes have a bit of wiggle room for me, just a bit. In this case, again it was very snug. Not to the point where it hurt, it actually fit like a glove. The shox at the bottom is the coolest part for me. It’s so springy, and draws a lot of attention. Then again, the heel is quite big especially when viewed certain angles. Whatever you think of the shoe, whether you can pull it off or not, I think we can all agree that these shoes are pretty unique looking. They also have an alternate pair in mostly black, with green accents. Nike’s going the other way and trying to get people back into the real world to buy its kicks. Add some spring to your step with a shoe featuring flywire cables, new lacing system, and twin plates with foam cushioning under the heel. The mesh provides you with superior breathability and flexibility, and the flex grooves in the outsole allow for the natural movement of your foot. With an overall look inspired by a rocket launch, get ready to sport some exciting Nike style. It definitely provides a more well-rounded experience than any of the previous models. So there’s space for the Nike Shox again. It’s not a basketball shoe, but this is a start. And if this start goes well, we’ll see more versions of these coming down the line.

KNIT ANKLE COLLAR

DIGITALLY CONNECTED SENSOR™

UNDER ARMOUR HOVR PHANTOM Released: February 01 / $168 USD Point blank: you’ve never felt a shoe like this before. It’s literally like wrapping your foot in a pillow—but one that’s so super-light that you forget it’s there. It’s comfort that comes from the anatomically designed, molded interior, the superplush knit collar, and the layers of plush material that envelop your foot. Simply put, the second you step into the uahovr Phantom, you’ll know why we call it a whole new running experience. The hovr uses a strange pattern for a runner. Most running sneakers go with ﬂat rubber, mostly black, that wears really well and grips in most conditions, wet or dry. This colorway stayed with black, but the ﬂat, normal traits are long gone. This shoe sports more of a turf, nub-like sole, and it wears well under use. After two months of wearing in the gym, on the treadmill, and on the road, the outsole

ENGINEERED MESH IN UPPER

ADIDAS ULTRA BOOST Released: December 01 / $180 USD

Design for the upcoming release of the Air VaporMax. BY: NIKE

FUSE.COMRD

The Ultra Boost was ahead of its time when it launched early last year promising to provide “unmatched energy return” and delivering! When we heard the already high-tech kicks were getting an update, we were intrigued. The new version will have a “Stretchweb” outsole that helps your foot strike the ground more naturally and adapts to all surfaces (whether it’s wet or dry). The tech was inspired by tires and helps to provide better traction than your standard sneakers. Plus, the new gradient multicolor “Primeknit” upper not only looks cool, but also helps the shoe adapt to your unique foot. Putting on a fresh full-length Boost midsole for the first time never gets old, especially with the Ultra Boost. Once again, adidas has provided the best for the key performance model, fitting the soft and responsive beads with an Torsion Bar for stiff support throughout the midsole, which is protected from the elements by the usual Continental rubber outsole. For the new Ultra Boost 4.0, adidas has increased the amount of Boost in the shoe, with the tallest point standing at 29 mm as opposed to the previous iteration’s 22 mm height. This difference is also reflected throughout the 10 mm midsole drop which provides anoptimal angle for your foot during more intense exercise. Additional Boost in the sole is a welcome inclusion, though

may go unnoticed to the casual observer. The cushioning helps to retain the initial stiffness of the shoe a bit, addressing a long-standing complaint from sneakerheads and runners. The toe is angled up higher, which further helps the shoe roll. The Adidas Ultra Boost provides plenty of bounce and even more cushion. While the overall performance upgrades are not exactly something to marvel at, their aim is geared toward runners using the shoe for that purpose. If you are buying an Ultra Boost for everyday wear, the 4.0 is comparable to past versions of the shoe, aside from the new knit pattern. This change is mainly noticeable throughout due to the thinning of the Primeknit; it is less noticeable in other areas due to inner padding or external support. Adidas has so far released beautiful colorways utilizing the new upper’s pattern, and images of upcoming pairs reveal they won’t be stopping this year. Once again, Adidas has produced a killer running shoe that can be dubbed as the perfect casual sneaker. get ready for an cushioned, responsive ride.

SNEAKER REVIEWS

LIGHTWEIGHT BOOST™ SOLE

looks nearly brand new. Because of the nubs, there was some slipping on wet surfaces. On ground, like a cross country run or off-road, the outsole worked great. On smooth, hard surfaces, the outsole had some issues (walking into a store while raining, it was really noticeable). Described by ua as “a proprietary foam compound in partnership with leading innovators, providing a super-soft durometer with incredible cushioning and shock absorption with every single foot strike,” hovr is at once soft and very responsive. I ran on the treadmill in the hovr Phantom, and thought they were super light and had a decent amount of bounce to them. The beauty of hovr is the ability to tune the stiffness. The white areas are eva , used as a carrier foam for the inside. The hov r is the black areas in the cutouts. The red textile netting, the Energy Web, is where the tuning comes in. From the very first try on it is soft underfoot and extremely comfortable. During runs, the midsole has a sinking feeling but responds underfoot with a soft bounce. I will say it is the best cushioning Under Armour has ever put out, and it can be tuned for different activities and needs per shoe (more on that in the next review). If you are a serious athlete, you owe it to yourself to at least try a hov r Phantom shoe on. The hovr Phantom is a comfortable and easy ride for recovery runners who need a soft cushioning for their joints. If you have been looking for a runner that is both responsive and cushioned, then the hovr Phantom has you covered. Just be prepared to have break in these bad boys before they truly feel comfortable, and maybe consider getting a bigger gym bag to carry theses Rolls-Royce-sized shoes to and from the gym.

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS SPRING 2019

Photoshoot, December 2017 BY: WGSN

010

ISSEY MIYAKE

words by MARK HOLOGATE

TASMIN BLANCHARD

Meet Iris van Herpen, the Dutch designer boldly going into the future. a day or so after Iris van Herpen presented her Fall 2016 collection, dubbed Lucid, in Paris last month, she sat down to talk about the very personal dialogue that has developed in her work between the hand and the machine. Ever since she started her label in 2007—after graduating from Arnhem’s Art Institute of the Arts in 2006 and a stint working for Alexander McQueen in London and the Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra—Van Herpen has singly (and singlemindedly) been fashion’s leading exponent of what technology can do and what it will mean for us. At the same time, she has nimbly sidestepped categorization as a designer, preferring to let whomever sees or indeed wears her work to choose how to describe it: Fashion? Art? Or simply, quite possibly, the future?

011

YOU STARTED YOUR L ABEL IN 2007.

WHEN YOU STARTED WHAT MATE-

WHAT DROVE YOU TO DO IT?

RIALS WERE AVAIL ABLE TO YOU?

My idea of fashion is pretty abstract: It’s more than a garment, and it’s more than a commercial product. Fashion is really an interconnected thing. I try to have it interact with other discipline. For some people, it’s unimaginable that fashion and science can even connect, but in my mind they can. The world is changing rapidly, and technology is a big influence on that. I think the way a garment can be made can be radi-cally changed and sustainable. I am not trying to change it on a big scale, but I am trying to make little improvements on a smaller scale.

I really felt that I had to do things in an entirely different way. Even before school I had been collecting materials. I didn’t know what to do with them; I just collect them. When I started studying fashion, I suddenly felt a reason for all the materials I had been collecting, many of which had nothing to do with fashion. If I look at my earlier work, in terms of the materials, it was probably more extreme or experimental [ than it is now ]. One collection I made from the boning of umbrellas. It was very sculptural. Another, we wove a very thin metal fabric in collaboration with a factory that normally makes boats. I think at that moment, I was just a little bit bored with the fabrics that I had been taught to work with. THE CLOTHES YOU MAKE, ARE THEY ALL CONCEIVED AS ONE-OFFS?

I’ve never really stuck to the idea of oneoffs because we make the garments, even those in the archive, based on requests. From the beginning, I got the idea to build up my archive for the knowledge of my craftsmanship. Also, when I sold a piece, we would remake it at that time. If you don’t do it then, at that very moment, it’s gone. In ﬁve years, you don’t know how to do it anymore. DOES YOUR STUDIO DIFFER FROM THE CONVENTIONAL IDEA OF WHAT A STUDIO IS?

BY: MORGAN O’DONOVAN

Female forms create ‘Shift Souls’.

It is different and the same. When you go into my atelier, you will see all the standard things: a sewing machine, people working on patterns, the mannequins, the fabrics; but at the same time, we also have other elements like laser cutting

and molding. Some dresses we make from a complete molding in clay first, so it’s a different process. There’s also a lot of computer work involved, so you will see the office part. That part looks like an office, but the most interesting thing is that I don’t confine my workspace only to Amsterdam; there are a lot of people I work with outside of my atelier, like Philip Beesley, an architect who’s based in Toronto.moment, it’s gone. In five years, you don’t know how to do it. WHEN ONE LOOKS AT YOUR FALL 2016 COLLECTION, ONE MIGHT THINK THAT IT IS SUPER-HIGH-TECH?

The funny thing is that when I started in fashion I only did handwork. I’m really not technology-focused. Inspiration for me does not come from technology; I really see it as a tool. The process of making a 3D print is boring because it’s all done on a computer, but I love the end result and the things I can make with it. I hope in the future it becomes more human and more interactive. I did my first 3-D printed dresses in 2009. We couldn’t print to make it flexible yet, so I had to be inventive in how I was in-corporating it into my collections. The good thing about it now is that flexible printing is much more durable than it used to be, so you can really do the usual stuff to it. You can wash it, you can press it . ..I was hoping in my mind it would go faster, but it doesn’t happen overnight. I remember the first piece I printed took seven days, 24 hours a day, to print. If you count that in hours, it’s massive, but it usually doesn’t take that long anymore. All of the garments designed are created by draping, and that’s really my way of working, because I need the interaction with the material.

Most of my inspirations come from artists, dancers, architects and scientists. Sometimes I take inspiration from an experience or a memory.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT YOUR WORK?

People think that everything I make is 3-D printed, but really the basis of my work is the craftsmanship. I think a lot of people try to separate the two. You have traditional houses that focus on craftsmanship, and then you have people who are into technology, but I don’t really see that they have to be apart. I see them as equal, and I actually think that they can complement each other. Oftentimes, a texture that I’ve been developing on the 3-D printer can be an inspiration for a hand work technique, and sometimes it’s the other way around. CAN YOU TELL US A LIT TLE MORE ABOUT YOUR UPBRINGING?

I grew up with parents who were pretty hippie, and I didn’t have a television or a computer. Even when I was studying at the academy, I didn’t use a computer. I actually remember having a big conversation with my computer teacher because I was expected to create my drawings on the computer, and I really felt I didn’t need that for my creative process. I still feel like that. Sitting behind a screen is not very creative in general, but I really believe in it for the future, so I go there. My whole youth has nothing to do with technology, and maybe that’s why it’s even more fascinating for me now.

The evolution of the human shape through identity and fluidity. BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

WHAT ABOUT POP CULTURE? DO YOU CONNECT TO THINGS LIKE THE MOVIE EX MACHINA, FOR EX AMPLE?

It’s inspiring and frightening to think about humanity and the future in general. Biology and technology will fuse together, and that’s a very interesting direction, but I don’t like to judge it because it’s such a big subject. Reality and non-reality will become one, in a way, and it’s superfascinating, but it’s too complex to really define, though I deﬁnitely like to think about it. One collection, called Biopiracy, was inspired by this fusion of biology and technology and what it will mean. It’s amazing how transformable we are as people, what the escalation of technology will do to the brain and the body. TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE PIECES THAT ARE IN THE SHOW

The way I connect to those pieces, I think, is very much based on the process and the challenges they gave me. My personal clients, they connect to my work for

different reasons, and I think it should be that way. It’s again that notion of fashion and art. Some people see my work as art and others see just the beauty of a dress. I want to keep it that open. I’m just not very branded in that sense! WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS?

I don’t keep journals, I don’t draw, and I don’t work from mood boards. I never sketch apart from the 3-D prints, which is the opposite of what you would expect. All of the garments I design are created by draping, and that’s really my way of working, because I need the interaction with the material. Only with 3-D printing do I start with a sketch. The process is partly happening inside my head and partly happening while molding on a mannequin. I try to avoid my process become controlled with too many ideas that come from logic, it’s too predictable. After molding, a new idea comes, the adjustment process starts; that can go back and forth hundreds of times.

013

WAS FASHION ALWAYS THE PASSION

I grew up in a very very small village called Wamel (in the middle of the Netherlands). My parents, at the time, did not have tv nor fashion magazines. So, I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much aware of fashion when I was little. My grandma collected special clothes and costumes and all imaginable accessories throughout her life, so when I was with her, I was dressing up in her enormous collection, which was a mix between historical and modern clothes. When I was a teenager, I went to school in a small city and I became aware of all the different identities and groups people like to place themselves in. I started making my own clothes a bit and searched to find my own style. When I was very small, I wanted to become a dancer, but that slowly changed over the years in a passion to become a fashion designer. I really enjoyed making my own clothes and I liked painting and working 3D. That is when I decided to go to the art academy when I was 17. ARE THERE ANY RECURRING IDEAS THAT YOU GO BACK TO IN YOUR DESIGN PROCESS?

Dance and movement are often a starting point when I work on a collection. To me, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to create something where I am challenged, and that stretches the possibility of making. Next to that material development, new techniques and craftsmanship. Always.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

OF YOUR LIFE?

There is beauty in the unknown, or in knowing that there is something there that I cannot physically see or experience. That creates space for imagination. But I find the most beauty in the process itself. 014

Organic patterns enhance the body with tech-couture. BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

DO YOU THINK FASHION HAS BEEN THE BEST MEDIUM TO EXPRESS YOURSELF UP UNTIL NOW?

DID YOU FEEL , FROM EARLY ON, THAT YOU HAD AN URGE TO CREATE WITHIN YOU?

THE WAY YOU VIEW CLOTHES AND FASHION?

My grandmother is 87 years old now and still intelligent and creative. She has a nice style where she mixes the old and the new. She likes vintage the most. Her attic collection has inspired me to see the beauty of clothes, materials, fabrics and craftsmanship from a young age. WHERE DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? DO YOU DRAW FROM YOUR OWN PERSONAL MEMORIES?

FASHION MAY BE LIKE?

We moved to globalizing clothes for quite some time now. People dress more and more the same in different continents and countries. But upcoming technology will give more power back to the consumer People will be able to customise designs to something that ﬁts exactly to their taste when new techniques will become mainstream. That will encourage people to create personal taste. I hope, in future, it becomes fashion to not follow fashion. It is time for that. The system has huge points to better itself; environmentally and regarding humanity and animal rights. I am luckily in the position in my company where I have control so I can handle these issues the right way. I don’t believe I can change a system, but at least on a small scale, I improve myself.

Lucid. A comparison between geometric styles.

BY: MORGAN O’DONOVAN

Most of my inspirations come from artists, dancers, architects and scientists. I also take inspiration from an experience or a memory, like for m capriole collection where I tried to visualize my feelings while jumping from a plane. The collection is based on only that one minute of falling down. It is quite abstract to visualize a feeling or a memory — and that is what I need while creating; visualizing the invisible. One word to describe my work, it would be movement, as one of the most inﬂuential things in my life has been my classical ballet practice.

FANTASIES OF WHAT THE FUTURE OF

TWO LOOKS THAT HAVE SPECIAL MEANING FOR YOU?

One dress that means a lot to me is the Synesthesia dress, which is the first dress that I made for Björk and that she wears on the cover of her Biophilia album. I did my first fittings with Björk for this dress it was the start of our very dear friendship. Another look that is very personal is the Skeleton dress, which was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This dress visualizes the inside of the body outside and translates very directly my parachute and ballet experiences. Those years of dance taught me so much about my body, the transformation of movement, the “evolution” of shape, and how to manipulate both shape and movement. The years where the soil of my interest in fashion, in which I am now able to transform this kinesthetic knowledge into new shapes and materiality. To me, the this dress represents freedom and imperfection, and between those two is where the beauty can be found.

MARK HOLGATERD

DID YOUR GRANDMOTHER INFLUENCE

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTIONS OR

DO COULD YOU SELECT ONE OR

IRIS VAN HERPEN

My parents gave me a lot of freedom, my father and my brother inspired me to play the violin as they did. Also, I learned that for many years, and my mother inspired me to take dancing lessons as she did also; classical ballet I studied for many years. Dance is still a big inspiration for me when I design today. I learned so much about body control, transformation in time, three dimensionality, and relationship with the space around me. Movement and the relationship with light are essentials to me when I design.

As I collaborate with other disciplines (art, science, dance, architecture) quite often, it makes my focus even stronger. It makes my design ﬁeld and depth of research very rich and changeling. If my work would only contain designing clothes, I would definitely get spiritless after the years. But, the opposite is the case, as my exploration field within fashion’s space is growing each season.

WOULD YOU SAY YOUR TAKE ON FASHION IS QUITE PHILOSOPHICAL?

Organic and inorganic biology clash to form fragility and power within.

016

BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

Delicately breathing life through movement.

I’m interested in synesthesia, linking an experience with the senses. When a garment triggers all your senses then it’s a full experience.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

I think it is a bit. I think a lot about life and the way we live and make decisions. When I collaborate with an artist and architect like Philip Beesley, our sessions are more about philosophy than the practical side of what we’re going to do. I think that’s visualised in the collections. The thing is, it’s so abstract I could never tell you exactly what that philosophy is. A very big part of fashion is about dreams and creating an identity and creating a story for someone and with someone. The mass production side of fashion is something that I am less interested in because it has less to do with creating a dream for someone else. That said, I don’t really having a specific person in mind when I’m designing. It’s more that I’m making the dresses for a female body, and I see that as a muse. It’s the starting point; it’s like my canvas. Depending on the garment, I can shine a light on different elements of the silhouette. When I drape on a mannequin,

I start from the middle, the waist. That’s definitely my focus point. I like the interaction between the three-dimensionality of the body and the three-dimensionality around the body. A couture garment has its own way of moving, and I like it to interact with the body and not just follow it. It becomes two personalities in one – the dress and the woman. Every woman has her own way of moving, and that’s something I keep in mind when I design. I don’t just design the dress but its movement. I like the behavior and the misbehavior between the body and the garment. The interaction between the two that makes a challenge: sometimes a garment is completely in tune with the body and it’s like a dance. Sometimes it’s the contrary! The garment has a influence on the body and that’s an interesting dialogue to play with. Then you go a step further with the touch or feel of a garment and it truly becomes real.

IRIS VAN HERPEN MARK HOLGATERD

Syntopiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind the scenes photography. BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

017

The body acting as waves-in-motion.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

018

IRIS VAN HERPEN

Iris van Herpen Syntopia Behind the scenes

MARK HOLGATERD

Syntopiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind the scenes photography. BY: MOLLY SJ LOWE

019

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

I S S E Y M I Y A K E Inspired by the vibrant sun, meant to provide energy with a refreshing force. BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

020

ISSEY MIYAKE

words by tasmin bl anchard

TASMIN BLANCHARD

More Than Clothing: The Brilliant, Innovative Mind Of Issey Miyake FASHION DESIGNER. BORN IN 1938, HIROSHIMA. ESTABLISHED THE MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO IN 1970.

miyake’s unwavering approach to creation is the freedom to have ideas, unconstrained by any pre-existing rules or framework, and to be able to makethem realities through a tenacious process of research and experimentation. Miyake works in a manner that not only advances his own ideas but also cultivates skills in people around him, constantly pushing both the tradition and the evolution of fashion design. Forty-ﬁve years of innovative fashion and design by Issey Miyake are on display at the National Art Center in Tokyo. The Work of Miyake Issey promises an “unprecedented” insight in the fashion designer’s career from 1970 to today. Miyake, 77, is best known for his origami-like garments, technological development of textiles and unique approach to fashion. This exhibition will shed light on Miyake’s ideas about making things and his approach to design by examining his entire career, from his earliest work to his latest projects, and his explorations of greater creative possibilities in the future. Miyake has always explored the relationship between a piece of cloth and the body, and the space that is created as a result, unrestricted by any existing framework.

021

Last month he made a rare public appearance. A major exhibition of his work from almost half a century, Miyake Issey Exhibition: The Work of Issey Miyake, was opening at the National Art Centre Tokyo. At the press conference Miyake didn’t dwell on his past achievements but instead talked about what he was planning to work on next. He opened up a suitcase. In it was a big piece of handmade washi paper, and a simple kimono-type jacket made crudely out of the paper. “I am very interested in the culture of paper,” he said. He has been researching the material and been sent this particular paper, which was woven by hand by a craftswoman in Shiraishi in the Miyagi prefecture in the north of Japan. “She sent it to me to archive,” he tells me when we spoke after the press conference He was keen to chat despite the fact that there was a crowd gathering in the entrance to the museum to hear him officially open the exhibition. One of his brightly coloured flying saucer dresses hovered above them as they waited, suspended from the ceiling.

Broom painted strokes give way to soft and light textures. BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

022

BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

Garment pleated pieces provide functionality, comfort, and beauty.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

since NY 1971

“Indian paper is famous, Egyptian papyrus, and Chinese paper . . . every country has used this natural material. But the problem is that it’s going to run out because it’s very difficult work,” he tells me in his fluent English. “The woman who made it and sent me the package is 96 now. There is nobody to inherit this precious technique. Depending on how you produce it, it could be useful for many things.” There used to be 300 paper making workshops in Shiraishi, which was badly damaged by the 2011 earthquake. Now there is just one. Tradition is very important to Miyake. It is the fusion of the most basic of materials and ancient of traditions with new and innovative techniques that has kept his brand at the forefront of fashion —technically if not always critically — for the past four and a half decades. One of his biggest fans was the late Zaha Hadid, who loved wearing his clothes. The Designer of the moment Jonathan Anderson

ISSEY MIYAKE

recently told Business of Fashion: “Iv’e always been obsessed by him and how he worked with so many different types of people.” The London-based French designer and a 2015 lvmh prize finalist Faustine Steinmetz is similarly fascinated, particularly with how Miyake has developed a universal clothing product with Pleats Please — one of the only labels she wears apart from her own. These are clothes that are made from polyester and can be machine washed, rolled up in a suitcase and unpacked to look as crisp and springy as they did when you packed them; they are light, ageless, trans-seasonal, cross-cultural, ambisexual (there’s a men’s range, Homme Plissé, because Miyake realised that 10% of Pleats Please customers were men), and don’t cost a fortune. At the exhibition, I was struck by how timeless and relevant the clothes are, even the early pieces like Sashiko (aw71) which is made from hard quilted fabric used for Judo uniforms and the farmers’ work clothes; Tanzen (sw76/77), a loosely cut kimono style

TASMIN BLANCHARDD

Throughout his career, Miyake has developed a variety of innovative approaches to manipulating fabric into new shapes and textures, creating garments that move and fold in unusual ways. coat with a tie belt; and Shohana-momen (ss76/77), a red shirt and cropped trouser set made from fabric traditionally used to line men’s kimonos. Each garment is exquisitely displayed on a figure. The “grid” bodies are made from 365 pieces laser cut from a single sheet of corrugated cardboard and acrylic plastic and then ingeniously slotted together to form the shape of a human body.

Baked stretch technique and straight pleats provide lightness. BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

023

flying-saucer dress and the 1999 a-poc. “Miyake’s clothes have an aura about them,” Bolton says. The a-poc in particular is the perfect fusion of computer technology and basic knitting machine. With his textile engineer at the time, Dai Fujiwara, Miyake worked out a way to create clothing that is knitted from a single strand of thread without the need for additional sewing or cutting. It is an industrialised process that eliminates final cutting and sewing. According to Lidewij Edelkoort, the fashion predictions guru who runs the company Trend Union, Miyake is the past, present and future of fashion. “How creative can one person be?” she asks. “It is exceptional for a living person to have this body of work. There is a consistency in taste, colour, shape, yet evolving innovation, and also always this keen interest in textiles.” As a child, Miyake wanted to be an athlete. One of the exhibits in the show is the official uniform he designed for the newly independent team for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Linked with his love of sport, Miyake’s clothes have always allowed freedom of movement, and his shows highlight their flexi-bility (and often bounce-ability). He studied in the graphic design department in Tokyo’s Tama University in the 60s and left Japan for Paris in 1965. He enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisien to learn how to make clothes and went on to work with Hubert de Givenchy. It’s odd now to think of him sketching dresses that Audrey Hepburn might have worn — many worlds away from the uncompromisingly futuristic, indus-trial clothing he went on to create. In 1994 Miyake handed over the reins to his main fashion line for men — followed by womenswear in 1999 — to his former assistant Naoki Takizawa so that he could concentrate on research projects. He continues to oversee all the collections. (Takizawa is creative director at Uniqlo, so Miyake’s influence can be felt right down the clothing food chain). Whether it is with paper or digital techniques, Miyake’s

Miyake has anticipated sustainability issues in the industry long before they were a talking point. I ask him what he thinks the key challenges will be for future generations of fashion designers. “We may have to go through a thinning process,” he says, that we may have to consume less. “This is important. In Paris we call the people who make clothing couturiers develop new clothing items but actually the work of designing is to make something that works.” In other words, clothes shouldn’t be a frivolous end in themselves, but should have a purpose that offer a solution. “The important thing is to make something,and it’s not important that a designer be known by name if you can remain anonymous. Next month Miyake’s designs will be featured in an exhibition at the Costume Institute in New York, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. The museum’s curator, Andrew Bolton, was in Tokyo for the opening of Miyake’s exhibition. The pieces he will be exhibiting in New York include his ss94

024

BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

A closer look at the garment pleating.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

His clothes are light, ageless, crosscultural, and ambisexual.

ISSEY MIYAKE

team continues to innovate, most recently with the Bao Bao, a Blade Runner-style bag made from a flexible grid of vinyl triangles linked together with a polyester mesh. It is a bag that has truly gone viral. You see it everywhere, from the streets of Tokyo to the farmers’ markets of London. But the secret of Miyake’s success (his business is still privately owned, with 133 stores in Japan and 91 internationally, plus eight lines of clothing and bags, as well as fragrances, lights and watches) is not that he has embraced technology, more that he has managed to use it in a way that fuses the innovative with the most elemental of crafts. In 2007 he launched his Reality Lab. “It is quite amazing to see Japanese technology,” he says. “We develop many different things, happily I have a great team of designers. I am going to let them get on with it, and this way I can be free to explore.”

TASMIN BLANCHARDRD

Garment showcases an inverted pleating technique. BY: YANNIS VLAMOS

025

026

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

BY: RON KEDMI

DAN HOWARTH

from the Hard Copy collection.

NOA RAVIV

Translucent, backless black dress

A Noa Raviv combines grid patterns and 3-D printing for Hard Copy fashion collection in the space of a year, Noa Raviv, the famous Israeli fashion designer has gone from a relative unknown to a buzzy up-and-coming designer with a résumé many of her peers — new and established — would envy. Noa Raviv has integrated 3-D printed elements into ruffled garments inﬂuenced by the distorted digital drawings. The printed and stitched lines and grids onto the fabrics to evoke images of corrupted drawings made using computer modelling software. Distortion of digital drawings and classical Greek sculpture are the two contrasting elements used to inform the remarkable Hard Copy collection. Using Stratasys’ Objet500 Connex3 printing technology, Raviv has achieved two creations formed from multiple layers of polymer. The concept and construction embodies a genius level of innovation Fashion is an ever-changing field that is consistantly being pushed by the evolution of technology.

027

BY; RON KEDMI

3D printed parts create bold, graphic lines.

028

BY: RON KEDMI

Textiles created from pleated fabric, tulle, and silk organza.

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS SPRING 2019

The Greek sculptural element is beautifully infused to inform the asymmetrical silhouettes carefully considered and technically constructed, referencing the complex detail, curved contours and a question of perception in regards to the hard touch of the sculpture contrasting the soft and free flowing illusion of the marble. In regards to the digital influence, the very process of the creation informed the finalised designs, injecting the tension of the 2-D and 3-D unfolding while working with the software. The grid pattern prompts an optical illusion while stretched around

the garment, complimented by harsh black outlines and orange accents, referencing the selection tools within the modelling software. Raviv was awarded Fashion Designer of the Year at the print show in 2014 and it is clear to see why. Her ingenious creations are set to showcase within Met’s prestigious exhibition Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology opening in May. Raviv is a young designer and artist from Tel Aviv, currently based in nyc. Raviv is fascinated by the tension between harmony and chaos, tradition and innovation, sensitively seeking for the perfect balance. She likes to observe and look for the uniqueness and beauty in the mundane and ordinary. Her ‘Hard Copy’ collection, created during her time at Shenkar College of engineering and design, uses the classical art and its evolution as the point of departure. “Classical Greek sculpture once represented an ideal vision of beauty,” she says. “Mastering techniques during the eras of ancient civilizations, each composition was able to capture intricate details of the human body — the sinuous curves, the rigid muscles, the small facial features —with primitive means. It was copied and reproduced throughout the history until it became an empty repetition of style and expression.” In collaboration with Stratasys, one of the largest manufacturers of 3D printers in the world, Raviv has deliberately developed manipulated digital images with computer modelling software; deformed pieces envisioned by a command that would be difﬁcult for

NOA RAVIV

Defective digital imagery create sculptures that cannot be replicated. BY; RON KEDMI

DAN HOWARTHD

“3-D PRINTING ENABLED ME TO DO THINGS I NEVER IMAGINED AS A DESIGNER.”

the technology to execute without setting a complex configuration of parameters, components, and codes. “These objects cannot be printed, nor produced in reality. They exist only in the virtual space. The tension between the real and the virtual, between 2-D and 3-D inspired me to create this collection,” said the designer. Following this motif, each item is a true representation of alternate reality presented within the confines of a screen. For example, the grid is a tool used within programs such as rhinoceros, AutoCAD, and illustrator in order to grant designers the ability to understand size, scale, and proportion. Within the context of the collection, the series of criss-crossing perpendicular vectors is referenced by lines of black and white polymers that articulate ruffled and undulating silk and tulle fabrics as they assume shapes similar to the traditional versions of bodices. This is contrasted by accents of orange that decorate the perimeters of the pleated textiles. It is a characteristic meant to symbolise the action of selecting the edge of a volume or surface in modelling software.

029

Last May, items from ‘Hard Copy’ collection were selected by Andrew Bolton was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s ‘Manus X Machina’ earlier this yearing the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. An estimated 750,000 people saw the exhibit, countless more if you consider those who were keeping up with Vogue’s online coverage or Instagram. Raviv’s pieces, a black dress and top with sculptural, curving 3-D-printed grids fanning away from the body actually lent themselves quite well to online viewing, and were inspired by technical glitches. Although her work is set in the technological era made possible in the 21st century, the inspiration is drawn from an unlikely place: the aesthetics of antiquity: “The sihouettes were inﬂuenced by classical sculptures which are rarely found unbroken, thus the shapes and patterns of the collection are mostly non-symmetrical and have a sort of the distorted look.”

With her current focus on the balance between the tensions around us—those of harmony and chaos, of tradition and innovation—it comes as no real surprise that Raviv’s own work radiates both beauty and complexity. Her designs are peaceful, light, airy, white, yet they have a boldness, and a power. Raviv’s designs scream of femininity, embodying qualities of a woman: the constant movement between power and softness, poise and creation, regality and chaos, and sensitivity and strength. But because of the uniqueness of Raviv’s creations, and their accomplished combination of futurism and beauty, past interviews have been focused on her innovation and the technological aspect of her designs rather than her as a female, and her as a female designer, which is refreshing.

Each piece is developed with Stratasys.

SPRING 2019

FUSE / EMERGING MATERIALS

BY; RON KEDMI

Noa’s work is a prime example of how aspiring designers turn some of the most challenging design concepts into reality.

030

O NOA RAVIV

DAN HOWARTH

Digital created art, inspired by classical Greek sculpture. BY: RON KEDMI

031